The tragedy in Connecticut is an unspeakable horror. No words can ever make sense of such carnage. Extremists on both sides of the gun control issue will have their say. There has to be some common ground.

Anne Michaud ["We've been avoiding this too long," Opinion, Dec. 16] correctly highlights the link between gun crimes and the criminally insane, noting we must "Get the guns out of madmen's hands." For this, she looks to legislators to pass more gun control laws. When it comes to dealing with the mentally ill, Michaud declares "It's not that we need stronger laws. . . . For the most part, we already have them. We just don't use them." Couldn't the same be said for gun crimes? Enforcement is the key, not more legislation.

Clearly, Adam Lanza should not have had access to guns, but the guns were not his. They were all registered to his mother.

If people want to have guns, fine. But control their access to ammunition by imposing a federal excise tax of $10 or $100 per bullet. Who knows, this may even be the answer to the budget deficit problem.

I'm going to remove my purchases from any commercial enterprise that uses violence to sell a product. I plan to boycott all and any toys, movies, games and events that are violent in their essence and are meant to raise the blood lust in us.

We are a great but not a peaceful country. As violence has permeated our culture, so might our peaceful intentions. In memory of the lives ended in a senseless slaughter, let us promote peaceful living. Be good to each other.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took issue with President Barack Obama's comment immediately after the Newtown, Conn., shootings ["Gun control back on national stage," News, Dec. 16]. The mayor said that the president's call for "meaningful action" is not enough, we need immediate action. He's right. The time to enact gun control legislation is now, when emotions are raw, and not at a future date when the tragedy will have been eulogized and forgotten, as has happened many times in the past.

There was a report on the same day of a man in China who stabbed 23 children and one adult at an elementary school, all of whom lived. The attacker was subdued by security guards. What would have happened if the man wielding a knife had an assault weapon instead?